I was born in Poonch (Kashmir) and now I live in Norway. I oppose war and violence and am a firm believer in the peaceful co-existence of all nations and peoples. In my academic work I have tried to espouse the cause of the weak and the oppressed in a world dominated by power politics, misleading propaganda and violations of basic human rights. I also believe that all conscious members of society have a moral duty to stand for and further the cause of peace and human rights throughout the world.

Wednesday, January 18, 2017

Religious fanatics in India and Pakistan

Nasir Khan, January 18, 2017

(I wrote the following piece in reply to a comment by a Facebook friend.)
Both Hindu and Islamic architecture have influenced each other in many
ways. By its appearance, Jejuri Temple seems to be a clear example of
this interaction in architecture.

Regarding your views on the division of Hindus and Muslims, my reply is:
If these people, Hindus and Muslims, regard one another as human beings
first where people's religious beliefs are left as their personal
matters and nothing more, then a common human and humane bond will
emerge that will allow cultural diversity but wherein all people will
stand for common humanity and common political, social and economic
rights and obligations.

But in India and Pakistan things are
working in the reverse order. In these countries, the first
consideration is towards religious identity while what is obviously
common, our common humanity and our oneness as human beings, is pushed
out of sight! The result is fanatics and fundamentalists in Hindus and
Muslims have made living for ordinary people difficult.

The
Hindutva fanatics in India have poisoned the minds of vast numbers of
Hindus and have made them anti-Muslim and anti-Pakistan by their
continuous propaganda. Many feel that is the only way to make India a
purely Hindu state by preaching the mantra of Akhand Bharat. There is so
much hatred against Muslims and Islam in Indian right-wing Hindus,
which I find hard to believe.

In Pakistan, the right-wing
religious and political parties have equally viciously poisoned the
minds of millions of people for establishing a theocratic state instead
of a modern democratic state.

Consequently, their continuous
indoctrination and misleading information against the non-Muslims has
relegated religious minorities in Pakistan to a secondary status. The
victimisation of some innocent people for having violated the so-called
blasphemy laws of Pakistan under concocted charges is a living proof of
the cancerous fanaticism and primitive mindset that once flourished in
the early middle ages.